


The way we used to

by Hawkefeathers



Series: Reaper76 Week 2017 [3]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Pre-Fall of Overwatch, Reaper76 Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 07:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9373622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawkefeathers/pseuds/Hawkefeathers
Summary: Gabe feels a brief pang of longing for the way things were before he quickly stamps it back down. Now isn’t the time for that.“Just read it, Morrison.”-For Day 3 of Reaper76 Week - "At Your Back"





	

**Author's Note:**

> Not as long as the others, but I'm pretty satisfied with this one~

“Reyes, what...what is this?”

_ Reyes _ . Not Gabe, or even Gabriel. Reyes. Just as Morrison was no longer Jackie or Jack or any of the other pet names Gabe used to try to embarrass him with. They’ve been reduced to last names, cold and impersonal. Or titles. 

A harsh reminder that they aren’t the same men they used to be. 

Gabe feels a brief pang of longing for the way things were before he quickly stamps it back down. Now isn’t the time for that. 

“Just read it, Morrison.”

Jack looks up from the holo-pad he’s been studying and gives him an incredulous look. “I’ve  _ been _ reading it! None of this makes any sense! You come in here and shove this on me the night before a U.N. hearing and expect me to just believe it? Just like that?!” 

Gabe knows what it looks like. He’s just handed Jack a laundry list of shady dealings, doctored reports, bad intel, mined data, and a host of other other information dating back years. Signs of corruption spreading through the ranks like a disease, all the way from the lowest agents to the top brass. And all under the Strike-Commander’s nose. 

He’s aware that his timing is awful. The public is calling for Jack’s head after rumors of Blackwatch’s activities have started to circulate on the net. There’s talk of replacing him, or dismantling Overwatch altogether. Some are lobbying for Jack, and Gabe himself, to spend the rest of their lives behind bars for what looks like a gross abuse of power. 

Jack is meant to stand in front of the U.N. tomorrow and Gabe has just handed him all of the signs that he’ll be walking into a den of vipers. 

“I’m  _ expecting  _ you to open your damn eyes and look around! This has been going on for a long time, almost from the start. Are you seriously telling me that, even now, you aren’t suspicious? The  _ second _ you started questioning orders your ability to lead was called into question. The last time I tried to talk to you about this shit? Suddenly the press has their hands on classified Blackwatch info.  _ Tell _ me that doesn’t send up some huge red flags!” 

Jack looks flabbergasted, floundering for words, and for the first time Gabe lets himself really  _ look _ at him. Gone is the fresh faced young blond that he’d met all those years ago. Jack’s hair is streaked with gray, youthfull gold giving way to tired silver. His eyes are dull and too wide, the dark circles under them a testament to just how much stress he’s been under these days. Deep worry lines are carved into his face like they are etched in stone. Gabe knows they aren’t as young as they used to be, but he’s never realized just how much Jack’s age is starting to show. 

How the hell did they fall apart so badly?

Jack scrubs his hand through his hair in a choppy gesture. “Things have seemed a bit off. I’ll admit that. Things haven’t been adding up around here lately and stuff seems to be going wrong a little  _ too _ often. But what you’re talking about here? This is insane! You know that right? You’re pointing fingers at members of the U.N. council for Christ’s sake!”

Jack is practically shouting at this point and while Gabe knows they can’t be heard from outside the volume still puts him on edge. He’s expecting the axe to drop any day now; he’s had the distinct feeling of being watched over the last few weeks and it can’t lead to anything good. 

“I know how it sounds, dammit! But you’re going to have to trust me on this.  _ Trust _ . You remember what that means, right?”

It’s a low blow and Jack sags the moment the words are out of his mouth, but Gabe makes no move to take them back. He can’t let Jack ignore this. It doesn’t matter how much they’ve fallen out, that their relationship is in tatters and they haven’t had a proper conversation in years. 

He can’t let Jack face the wolves alone. They may look like sheep now, but he knows they are waiting for the slightest drop in Jack’s guard and then they’ll tear him apart. 

Jack sighs and turns away, dropping the holo-pad on his desk and bracing himself against the sturdy frame. “...I remember. I know you think the worst of me, but I...I never stopped trusting you. No matter how bad things got. Even after…” He’s staring at a frame on the desk, a memory of a happier time. Two men, laughing together on the best day of their lives. 

He wonders what Jack did with the ring.

Gabe’s voice is softer when he responds. “We can’t fix this. It’s far too late for that. But we won’t go down without a fight.”

* * *

 

The hearing is a disaster. 

A week later, the Swiss headquarters goes up in flames. 

Strike-Commander Jack Morrison of Overwatch and Commander Gabriel Reyes of Blackwatch are both pronounced dead. Their bodies are never recovered. 

One year later, to the day, the head of the U.N. Security Council receives an email from an unknown sender. The subject line is blank. When he opens the message the mug he’s holding slips from his fingers, coffee staining the rich carpet at his feet. There is only one line:

**_We know what you’ve done and we’re coming for you. - GRJM_ **

 


End file.
